LOVE SO GREAT

Easter Day

Christ Church, Poughkeepsie

27 March 2005

The Rev. Richard C. Witt Jr.

Life has a way of creating narrow boundaries that seemingly limit the possibilities for us. Today we are reminded that God’s Love is so great - that it changes these limiting, suffocating boundaries - making life possible.

Let’s look for a moment at the boundaries we create for ourselves:

A Man goes around the corner and leaves his car in front of a hotel. He then loses all of his money. What happened? (Playing Monopoly) The Youth Arts Group at Rural and Migrant Ministry loves these types of riddles for they have interesting twists that show how we limit ourselves in our perceptions and expectations. Here’s another one: Bobby loves apples, but she doesn’t love fruit. She loves dollars, but not money. She loves swimming, but she doesn’t love water. She loves letters but not reading or writing. (Bobby loves words with double letters)

What we focus upon determines what is possible. If we limit ourselves, or accept the limitations of the world about us - our boundaries of life narrow. And as they narrow, our lives, our hopes, our love narrows.

One of my younger sisters is an extremely beautiful woman - well all three of them are - She tells me that when she was a teenager, hardly anybody would ask her out for a date - they figured that someone so beautiful would not want to go out with them. I can understand this, when I think of all the beautiful women that I was too nervous to ask out (Until of course I got the courage to ask my wife out!) My sister then began to have doubts about her own beauty and her sense of worth.

It doesn’t take much to get us to narrow our boundaries. I can remember being a sophomore and dancing wildly away at a High school dance with my bell bottoms, platform shoes and polyester suit when a ninth grader came up to me and yelled over the music: “You dance funny!” Ever since then I have assumed that I am not a good dancer.

Events, words, actions can be painful, scary, overwhelming - and slowly our pain and fear take over and we constrict - closing in our boundaries - seeking to reduce the risk, avoid the pain and as a result we lower our expectations and cut off all sorts of opportunities. It happens to us as individuals, as communities and even as a society. Look at the impact of 911.

Sometimes we can pinpoint exactly the cause of our hopelessness, sometimes it creeps up on us. Here is an old story that I am sure you have heard, but I think it is a good one for Christ Church.

Once there was a monastery that had been vibrant and filled with men devoted to Christ. Unfortunately as time had gone on the many of the brothers had died and soon there were only six brothers left and they were aging. They were unable to keep up with the pace of days gone by so they began to cut back on some of the programs and liturgies. They also closed down a wing of the monastery. Soon the monastery began to look a little ragged around the edges and the brothers began to feel all the more weary and hopeless. There was even talk of closing the place down.

One day a rabbi from a nearby town came to visit one of the brothers. He asked how things were going and the brother replied with heavy heart: “ I am afraid that things are not well. It is almost impossible to keep up with things about here and we are most dispirited. We are old and there is nothing we can do.” The Rabbi replied: “That’s funny, because on my way here I had a vision that one of you is the Messiah.” The brother looked at him in shock: “Who?” he asked in surprise. “I can’t say” the rabbi replied. Well they talked a bit more and the rabbi took his leave. At supper the other brothers asked of the rabbi’s visit. When the brother told them of the rabbi’s vision, they sat quiet in amazement Finally one of them said: “Who?” “He didn’t say” replied the brother.

Well, during the next few days they all began to wonder which one was the Messiah. “Perhaps it is Brother Joseph. He is such a faithful man.” they thought. “I better treat him with the utmost respect.” Or perhaps it is Brother Gregory: “He has such a beautiful way with the liturgy.” “Or maybe it is Brother David?” And they thought long and hard about it - all the while being extra careful to be loving. Then they had the thought: “What if it is me?” “Oh God!” . . . .OH GOD!” “I better take extra responsibility to ensure that our monastery and our people are well taken care of!”

And slowly the monastery grew in energy and hope. And the people around the area began to notice this new energy and hope. They started joining in some of the activities of the monastery. They welcomed the brothers who reached out to them. And along the way a few new men joined the monastery and it grew into a vibrant, hopeful community of faith.

Its time to get out of the box (pun intended)

It’s time to name our boundaries and begin to push out. We don’t have to accept boundaries that are limiting. We don’t have to create boundaries that deny our humanity and the humanity of others; boundaries that create walls, injustice and harm. We don’t have to accept the status quo: “Well that’s the way it is” or “What are you going to do” or “I am powerless”

This is what the Resurrection is all about. Passing from the fear of death into the power, the energy of life. Seeing, living into, being guided by love. Love is an energy that expands the boundaries. Love is a power that confronts the power of evil. For love is always creating opportunities, opening doors - making the possible out of the impossible. Once you see what kind of words Bobby loves - then it becomes easy. Once we witness the love of Christ, then it becomes easy.

Our opportunity today is to make Easter an integral part of ourselves. To root ourselves in love. Love of ourselves, love of others - To see our humanity and the humanity of others and to know that God loves us. The promise of the resurrection is that God’s love is always possible to tap into - no matter how bleak things look. Let us change our starting point from: “You live and then you die” to: “You live.” Period. Your physical body my age, it will die. But you live. Peter says we are born anew for we are born into the consciousness of love.

Connecting with the Risen Lord is possible for all of us. Hear some stories of those who have rooted themselves in this profound love and who not only challenged the boundaries, but opened the doors: Or, to use the words of Isaiah:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captive and release to those imprisoned.

The first story is that of a child. Betsaida was a young girl who had just arrived from the Dominican Republic a few weeks earlier when I first met her. She attended Rural and Migrant Ministry’s overnight summer camp and afterwards she joined a drop in program we offered on Friday nights. At the end of the year she came up to us and said that she needed something more than just a drop in program. Our youth leaders said fine, what did you have in mind. Betsaida and few others thought about it and they came back a presented a plan for creating a leadership development program that would use the arts to help teenagers respond to the issues of injustice in their lives and the lives of their community.

Betsaida blossomed into a leader of this new group - and the group grew in its impact and reputation. Soon Betsaida was giving presentations at local colleges and then she was giving presentations in Canada and Mexico. Along the way she helped create a campaign to improve access for migrant children at the state universities. Then it was time for Betsaida herself to apply to college. Her high school counselor suggested a community college, Betsaida said she wanted to go to a four year college. Betsaida wanted to apply to Bard College - but her counselor wouldn’t support the application, so Betsaida applied on her own - and not only got accepted, but was awarded a full scholarship! When the admissions office at Bard called the guidance counselor for some records, the guidance counselor said: “She didn’t apply!” The woman at Bard said, “Yes she did, and we accepted her.” “The guidance counselor said: “You can’t accept her, I didn’t recommend her!” Since then Betsaida has excelled at Bard where she has helped to monitor the elections in Guatemala, worked with migrant farmworkers in western New York and started a band. In the seven years since she started the Youth Arts Group, twenty five students have gone on to college - the majority the first in their family. And the group has had a tremendous impact in pushing to end racism in public schools as well as fighting for farmworker justice in New York.

Betsaida pushed the boundaries of injustice and prejudice with her love and as a result she opened the door for many others.

*******

Scott was a common man. He was a teacher and lived her in the neighborhood. Scott came to the church one day in the 1980's and asked for help in creating a support group for those who were dealing with the AIDS crisis. This was a rather bold request at the time, because AIDS was very controversial and there was a great deal of fear and prejudice in our community. The Church supported the creation of the group. Then Scott asked for help in getting congregations throughout Poughkeepsie involved in a multi-faith service to pray with and affirm those who were dealing with the crisis. Some of the congregations said yes, many said no.. But slowly the fear and the prejudice in the city began to dissipate. Then Scott wanted to create a fund that provided funds for those who needed help meeting emergency bills and thus the Larry B. Timm Fund was born.

Scott faced the fear and the prejudice with great courage and love he pushed their boundaries back and in doing so he helped Poughkeepsie get out of its narrow box and live life more fully and freely.

I’ll finish with one last story. A pastor was sent by the Bishop to close down a Lutheran parish in East Boston, near Logan airport. The congregation was down to fourteen elderly Swedish women. The Bishop said: “You have a year to close the parish and help the congregation find a new faith community. After the pastor arrived, two Roman Catholic nuns approached him to ask if the new multi-faith immigrant organization they were creating could use space in the basement. They needed a home to respond to the needs of a growing southeast Asian immigrant population was not being very well received in the community. The pastor said yes, but went on to say that it was only for a year since the congregation would be closing.

A year later they couldn’t close the parish. There were now 80 members: the fourteen Swedish woman and sixty six Southeast Asians.

We must always be open to the Spirit. When we act in love and energy is created that opens up to us all sorts of unexpected possibilities.

I could go on and on. These are but a small few of the stories of our brothers and sisters who are Saints in our own time. Saints who have kept the Spirit alive and inspiring - And we are saints too!

The resurrection lives on. Life has not been vanquished - because love is still alive. As we go forth today. Let us go forth in the name of the resurrection. as the Saints of God. Loving, pushing the boundaries, reaching out - making a difference. For Love of God is so great. . . . that life is possible.

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